Two improvements after v0.2.1 deploy revealed the avif_status bug wasn't fully fixed: Fix: Format_Generator::make_avif() now calls record_avif_outcome() at the end of the synchronous path. Previously only the cron path recorded outcomes, so wp h4b-img generate-missing-siblings (synchronous) left 4067 stale 'queued' rows even though it successfully generated 603 AVIFs on disk. process_avif_job() simplified to a thin wrapper around make_avif(avif_async=false). Added: wp h4b-img reconcile-meta — walks _h4b_img_optim postmeta, checks for .webp / .avif files on disk, and updates avif_status / webp size fields to match reality. One-shot reconciliation for stale records left by earlier plugin versions. --dry-run supported. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
h4b-image-optim
ICC-safe image optimisation with WebP + AVIF generation for WordPress. Replaces Smush Pro without the grey-wash bug. No CDN.
Status: v0.1.0 MVP — under active development. Tested on AlmaLinux 9 + PHP 8.4 + Imagick 3.8.1.
Why this exists
Smush Pro's Ultra mode (lossy=2 + strip_exif=true) destroyed 1,345 high-contrast B&W ink art JPGs on rds.ink by stripping ICC profiles and applying aggressive JPEG quantisation. The diagnosis, rescue, and a full design document are in the sibling image-rescue/ directory.
This plugin is the structural fix: an in-house Smush replacement that never strips ICC profiles, with full source-code ownership and zero CDN dependency.
Features (v0.1)
- ✅ JPEG / PNG optimisation in place (Imagick + jpegoptim/pngquant)
- ✅ ICC profile preservation (the Smush-bug fix)
- ✅ EXIF orientation applied + GPS stripped for privacy
- ✅ WebP sibling generation (cwebp)
- ✅ AVIF sibling generation (avifenc, queued via WP-Cron)
- ✅ Backup of originals to
wp-content/h4b-img-originals/, pruned after 90 days - ✅ WP-CLI:
wp h4b-img status,wp h4b-img optimise --id=<n> - 🔜 Bulk processing (
wp h4b-img bulk) - 🔜 Picture-tag rewriting + .htaccess fallback
- 🔜 Admin settings page
- 🔜 Migration command from Smush metadata
Required system tools
Install on AlmaLinux 9:
dnf install --setopt=install_weak_deps=False \
libwebp-tools jpegoptim libjpeg-turbo-utils libavif-tools pngquant
Verify with:
wp h4b-img status
Settings (v0.1 — set via WP-CLI)
wp option get h4b_image_optim_settings
wp option patch update h4b_image_optim_settings jpeg_quality 90
Key defaults:
| Setting | Default | Why |
|---|---|---|
jpeg_quality |
85 | Industry standard; visually lossless for art |
jpeg_chroma_subsampling |
4:4:4 |
The Smush-bug fix — no chroma loss on edges |
preserve_icc_profile |
true |
Critical — never strip ICC |
generate_webp |
true |
Always make .webp sibling |
generate_avif |
true |
Always make .avif sibling (background) |
avif_async |
true |
Don't block upload UI |
backup_originals |
true |
Always |
backup_prune_days |
90 |
Cron prunes after 90 days |
resize_max_width |
2560 |
Hard cap on uploaded image size |
Uninstall
uninstall.php deletes the settings option and clears cron hooks. It does not delete backup files or .webp/.avif siblings — those are user data.
License
GPL-2.0-or-later.